Canada has a gang problem –– not a gun problem –– an issue Bill C-71 fails to address. Its focus is entirely upon those who do not shoot up our inner cities –– law-abiding gun owners.
Gang murders, in sharp decline since 2008, rose in 2015 and spiked sharply in 2016,[i] almost doubling in just two years. This spike is almost entirely the result of gangs shooting each other for control of the drug trade.
Even anti-gun Toronto Mayor John Tory admits[ii] only two percent of all Toronto homicides “have absolutely no connection” to gangs or drugs.
If federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale’s goal was, as he claimed in his post-Guns and Gangs Summit, “to end the scourge of criminal gun and gang violence in our communities,” [iii] why not address the criminal misuse of guns and deal with it head-on?
Why introduce legislation dealing with transport regulations, tracking gun store sales and adding more stringent mental health checks on law-abiding citizens?
BILL C-71 TARGETS LAW-ABIDING FIREARM OWNERS, NOT CRIMINALS
Currently, a licenced firearm owner with an Authorization to Transport can, without additional bureaucratic hurdles, legally transport firearms purchased from gun stores to their home, and from their home to an approved shooting range, a licenced gunsmith, a gun show, and to a border crossing. [iv]
Anyone crossing the border with firearms must comply with firearms laws of two nations , plus the US Border Service. Under Bill C-71, our Liberal government believes rigorously law-abiding individuals pose the greatest threat to public safety.
This is ridiculous and absurd.
Increased bureaucratic hurdles for licenced gun owners does not affect violent criminals.
Bill C-71:
- Leaves violent criminals alone. (They shoot back.)
- Harasses law-abiding citizens instead. (They don’t shoot back.)
- Makes perfect sense… if you lack all capacity for rational thought and lack the ability to solve real problems.
RCMP BACKGROUND CHECK AND CONTINUOUS ELEGIBILITY SCREENING
Right now, before a person is granted permission to purchase and possess firearms, the RCMP completes an extensive background check. This background check examines past criminal history, mental health, addiction and domestic violence records. If, and only if, the individual passes this detailed background check, will the RCMP grant them a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL).
RCMP scrutiny does not stop there. The RCMP’s Continuous Eligibility Screening Program runs an automated background check on every single licenced firearm owner daily. This check searches police and court records and flags anyone it finds as a potential public safety risk and sparks a new investigation.
CANADIAN LAW CLASSIFIES FIREARMS BY APPEARANCE, NOT FUNCTION
If keeping fully-automatic firearms out of the hands of civilians is the goal, common sense dictates you address the problem with a law prohibiting any firearm with the ability to function in full-auto mode.
Canada does not do this. If the gun “ looks bad, ” it’s banned. If it looks okay, it’s not.
For example, the Mossberg Blaze[v] is a semi-automatic .22 rimfire rifle. It fires a single bullet with each press of the trigger and cannot be converted into a fully-automatic rifle. This rifle is classified as a Non-Restricted firearm in Canada, meaning you can shoot it at the range, or go hunting with it in the bush.
The Mossberg Blaze 47[vi] is a semi-automatic .22 rimfire rifle. It fires a single bullet with each press of the trigger and cannot be converted into a fully-automatic rifle. It is identical to the Mossberg Blaze in every way except one – its cosmetic stock makes it vaguely look like the AK-47. This rifle is classified as a Prohibited in Canada, meaning civilian ownership is denied.
They are the same rifle. The stock is the only difference. One is Non-Restricted, the other Prohibited. It doesn’t have to make sense – it’s government policy.
GOODALE’S “SENSIBLE, PRACTICAL PACKAGE”
“We believe we have a sensible, practical package that advances public safety, assists police in trying to keep people safe, and is respectful and fair in dealing with law-abiding firearms and owners and businesses.” [vii]
Sensible, in a government dedicated to evidence-based policy, dictates attacking the source of the problem –– criminal gangs and their violent drug-dealing members.
Sensible, in a Liberal government, dictates attacking everyone except the source of the problem, with measures that fail to address the violent criminal gangs shooting up our cities.
Sources:
[i] https://thegunblog.ca/2018/03/07/oops-liberals-show-gang-crime-surging-since-they-took-power/
[ii] http://www.cbc.ca/news/ottawa-toronto-summit-guns-gangs-mayor-tory-blair-1.4566522
[iii] https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2018/03/minister-goodale-urges-joint-action-to-combat-criminal-gun-and-gang-violence.html
[iv] http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/notice-avis-2015-09-eng.htm
[v] http://www.mossberg.com/category/series/blaze-autoloading-rimfire-rifles/
[vi] http://www.mossberg.com/category/series/blaze-47-autoloading-rimfire-rifles/
[vii] http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberals-firearms-bill-c71-1.4584074
Media Pushes Lie Most Crime Guns Are Domestically Sourced